Snags, tandoori at joint cricket game

TANDOORI chicken complemented sausages at a cricket game aimed at building relations between Melbourne's Indian community and Victorian police.

South Asian cricket club Indigos took on the police team in the second annual community cricket game on Monday, in recognition of India's Republic day and Australia Day, both held on January 26.

The game was an important way of engaging with the community, Senior Constable Dinesh Nettur of the Multicultural Liaison unit said.

"It's important because when we engage the community in a friendly way they get to know us a bit better. A lot of the time we don't have time working operationally just to stop and chat with people," Mr Nettur told AAP.

"There's different elements of the Indian community that are always hesitant of police because of things that have happened in India as well but I think they realise things are different here."

A spate of attacks on Indian students in 2009 and 2010 caused outrage in India, prompting safety and policing concerns.

The violence had seen a drop in the number of students arriving, Mr Nettur said.

"It's dropped quite a bit. I don't think we've had such major issue as we did three or four years ago but as I said it's still a fast growing community," he said.

"Each community has its own needs. It's important for us to understand different cultural aspects of the Indian community and then show our support."

It was also a good day on the job for police, who were paid to play a day's cricket.

Indigos president Harmeet Saini said the club was conceptualised in 2006 to allow players from across the subcontinent to engage with Australian society.

"We have a lot of taxi drivers, a lot of students, who never get to speak to the police guys face to face. It's good to see them interact," he said.